‘Breaking Bad’ Finale: The Biggest Moments And Surprises

September 30th, 2013 ESUN

The show that has thrilled us, left us breathless, and most importantly, entertained the hell out of us, finally ended tonight: “Breaking Bad” took care of us to the very end, delivering an ending that saw fitting conclusions for Walter and Jesse.

The five-season marathon became an exhausting sprint near the end, and by the time the final “Vince Gilligan” credit ran, few could say that they were disappointed by how it all went down.

The end of Walter’s story was really how he handled his goodbyes. Some were quiet, others explosive. With so much resolved in the final episode of “Breaking Bad,” let’s take a quick look back at the biggest moments from “Felina.”

Gretchen and Elliott
The former Gray Matter partners may have been the sparks that sent Walter back to New Mexico, but they weren’t the targets that many had predicted. As others called ahead of time, Walter planned to use the billionaires to funnel his remaining cash to Walter Jr. with the hope he would spend it on college, but he didn’t let them off without a good scare. The fake assassination threat also gave us a wildly appropriate send-off for Badger and Skinny Pete.

Todd, Lydia, and the Rest
Yes! Yes! Yes! As soon as we saw the evil this gang of bastards was capable of, most fans wanted to stick a label on the M60 that read “To Todd and the Neo-Nazis, From Mr. White.” And just like Mike said when he was still with us, Lydia got what she deserved, and she got it in the way that fit perfectly. Be careful with your morning coffee or tea. Make sure no one touches your Stevia.

Skyler, Flynn, and Holly
One little camera movement revealed a whole lot in Skyler’s new residence. Walter came home before taking care of business, and he made a surprising admission to his wife and the audience. He dropped his “for my family” line and finally took responsibility for his actions. He did it for himself because it made him feel alive. And then he took one parting moment with Holly and gave Flynn a gift by leaving him alone.

Jesse
You can breathe now. Jesse is all right. Well — relatively all right. Jesse got to take the one life that deserved to be taken as brutally as possible, and he refused to do what Mr. White wanted from him. It was as positive an ending as we could have hoped for, but our own imaginary stories about Jesse adopting Brock will have to be saved for fan fiction.

Walter
At the very end, Walter spent his final moments in the world he loved — a meth lab — but before he went, he tied up the loose ends of his two-year run of evil. Skyler had the information she needed to find Hank and Gomie. Jesse was free to live a life without him or the business. And Walter wouldn’t allow his own greed to affect it at all, turning down the location of his money from Jack. Nothing could erase the horrible things he had done over the course of the series, but the least he could do was clean up the mess.